Trump agreement with North Korea divides Wisconsin Dems and GOP

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Wisconsin Republicans say President Trump's meeting has taken the most serious action in recent memory to end NorthKorea's nuclear threat.

"I think too many other presidents, and I'm talking about both parties here, be it Barack Obama, or George Bush or Bill Clinton just let the threat keep getting greater and greater," Rep Glenn Grothman said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan agreed, but remained skeptical of dictator Kim Jung Un in a statement:

"For decades, American policy toward North Korea has failed, and I commend the president for not accepting the status quo. As negotiations now advance, there is only one acceptable final outcome: complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization. We must always be clear that we are dealing with a brutal regime with a long history of deceit. Only time will tell if North Korea is serious this time, and in the meantime we must continue to apply maximum economic pressure. The road ahead is a long one, but today there is hope that the president has put us on a path to lasting peace in the Korean peninsula."

Democrats have been critical of the lack of concrete details in the arrangement.

"I think at best this is a nothing burger. The state department wasn't involved. We didn't have any leading voices. We don't have an ambassador. Nobody that can follow up on any sorts of agreements," Rep Gwen Moore, D-WI, said.

Sen Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, sent this statement:

“I’ve supported sanctions by the United States and the UN against North Korea because our goal is to achieve a verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. President Trump needs to deliver more than a promise from Kim Jong Un. North Korea needs to give up their nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, irreversible and verifiable way. President Trump has promised that will happen very quickly so he needs to make it clear how that will be achieved.”

Marquette professor Barrett McCormick says Trump's agreement to end military exercises on the border was a big concession.

"These are some of the largest military exercises held in the world, so it is a pretty big deal."

He says it is a good step toward avoiding a dangerous war.

"North Korea has missiles and terrible weapons and could possibly do very bad things to Japan and possibly even us."